Do Not Track Feature In IE10

Microsoft has decided to provide Do Not Track feature in IE10. First time user of IE10 will be given an option to change the default settings for Do Not Track privacy option.

While surfing through the net, we often access many sites that may track our activities without us even knowing. This may even lead to phishing and other malware attacks on us, though it is rare but still there is a possibility. Microsoft has taken a leap towards the customer privacy and has decided to provide a ‘Do Not Track’ option in its next version of Internet Explorer that comes integrated with Windows 8.

Microsoft has already made it clear that the users of Windows 8 when access Internet Explorer 10 for the first time (which is called ‘the first run’), they will be given an option to change the default settings for the ‘Do Not Track’ privacy option.

‘Do Not Track’ (DNT) tells the websites whether the user wants his/her activities to be tracked online or not. All the five major browsers including; Microsoft Internet Explorer 10, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Opera have the DNT feature but only few users were aware of this fact yet.

In the month of May Microsoft had announced that the DNT feature would be activated by default in IE 10 that comes with Windows 8. Even if the users do not take any action, the feature will be enabled; however they will always have the option to customize it themselves.

Brendon Lynch, Microsoft’s chief privacy officer, said that DNT will be enabled through the ‘Express Settings’ option in the Windows 8 setup procedure. He also added that the users will be given a ‘Customize’ option if they want to alter the default settings or want to turn off the DNT feature.

In case the users go with the ‘Express Settings’ they will be presented with a ‘Prominent Notice’ clarifying that the Internet Explorer will now be switching ON the DNT feature so that they are aware of it completely.

The users with Windows 7 and who want to upgrade to IE 10 will have a different kind of process. Though they will be presented with the ‘Prominent notice’ telling them that DNT feature will be turned on, in addition they will be provided with a link for further information about the settings. This could be inferred from this announcement that there will be no ‘First Run’ options for IE 10 running in Windows 7 but still no further clarifications are available from Microsoft’s side.

On one hand where some are appreciating these ‘First Run’ settings and default activation of DNT feature, which is clear from the fact that some other parties have contacted Microsoft to learn how the customers will experience the first DNT settings and how will they control them in IE 10. While on the other hand, online advertisers argue that this feature should not be given and add that when the users can themselves choose their settings, this default feature should not be adopted widely.

In a nutshell one can say that Microsoft has really started giving preference to its consumers these days and is bringing very useful and productive features especially in Windows 8 and other related software.